Finnish keyword research
Keyword research shows which words your customers use when they search for you on Google in Finland, how often they search, and where your website shows up now. Without it, SEO is guesswork.
In Finland the research has to be done in Finnish: the words change form and join into compounds, and a translated keyword list misses what Finns really type.
Happy clients since 2012
Why keyword research has to be done in Finnish
Finns have three everyday words for a website: kotisivut, nettisivut and verkkosivut. In this example from Google’s Keyword Planner, “kotisivut yritykselle” (a website for a company) was searched 880 times a month, “nettisivut yritykselle” 320 times and “verkkosivut yritykselle” 140 times.
A translation tool picks one of them. Keyword research tells you which one your customers use.
Finnish words also change their form. A noun takes 15 case endings (kotisivut, kotisivujen, kotisivuille…), and words join into long compounds: hakukoneoptimointi is search + engine + optimization. As a native speaker I see which forms people really search, and write them into your pages naturally.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the first step of search engine optimization. It gives the exact search volumes in the location and the language you want: for Finland, in Finnish.
Based on it, we choose the searches your pages are optimized for. I usually put the research in a spreadsheet, with the most important search term for each topic. The most important is not always the most searched: it can also be the one that is easiest to reach, because there is little competition.
The picture shows how people in Finland look for legal help: some search “asianajaja” (attorney), others “lakimies” (lawyer). One page can rank for only one of them, not both, so the research decides which one the page is optimized for.
Keyword research is done with Google’s Keyword Planner. To try it you need a Google Ads account, and for exact figures you need to spend money on ads. You can also ask me to do the research for you.
Rules of thumb
These rules of thumb have taken shape over years of testing. There are many ways to do SEO; this is mine.
Every page of your website is optimized for one search term only. When you optimize a page for just one search, you reach your goal much faster and get more visitors sooner.
So if your keyword research has 100 search terms, your website needs 100 pages.
This is how I optimized my own Finnish website. The searches it targets are Finnish, with their meaning in brackets:
| Page | Optimized for | May also show for |
|---|---|---|
| Front page | hakukoneoptimointi blogi (SEO blog) | hakukoneoptimointiblogi, hakukoneoptimointi… |
| Search engine optimization | nettisivun hakukoneoptimointi (website SEO) | hakukoneoptimointi, nettisivun hakukoneoptimointi hinta (price), miten tehdään nettisivun hakukoneoptimointi (how to do it)… |
| SEO guide (article) | ilmainen hakukoneoptimointiopas (free SEO guide) | hakukoneoptimointiopas, hakukoneoptimointi oppaat, opas hakukoneoptimointiin… |
| What is keyword research? (article) | mitä on avainsanatutkimus (what is keyword research) | avainsanatutkimus, tee se itse avainsanatutkimus (do it yourself), miten tehdään avainsanatutkimus (how to do it), avainsanatutkimus hinta (price)… |
Choose searches of at least two words
Pick a target search of at least two words for each page. Showing up for single words comes later on its own: few people search with just one word. When your customers look for something, they use precise searches to find exactly that.
For example: kaiverrus (engraving). It could mean
- sormuksen kaiverrus (ring engraving)
- riipuksen kaiverrus (pendant engraving)
- kellon kaiverrus (watch engraving)
- kallion kaiverrus (rock carving)
- kaiverruskone (engraving machine)
- laserkaiverrus (laser engraving)
- hautakiven kaiverrus (gravestone engraving)
- and so on.
If you engrave rings in Helsinki, your target search is “sormuksen kaiverrus Helsinki”. Note the ending: sormus (ring) becomes sormuksen, which is how Finns write it and search it.
Decide whether you want to compete for the visibility
Search volume is not the only thing that decides which searches to choose. Some searches have very hard competition, and aiming for them can be slow and difficult.
Try googling a search term, and check whether the titles in the results match your search word for word. That tells you whether your competitors have optimized for it.
If the competition is weak, you can pass these results with little effort. Visibility on a competitive search takes considerably more work.
The research becomes a plan
The plan decides which searches to focus on: for a company that sells websites, whether its pages say “kotisivut”, “nettisivut” or “verkkosivut”.
Every important page of your site is optimized for a search, typically one page for one search. The keyword research comes with a report that has the site’s structure worked out and the search each page targets.
If the research finds a search your site does not show up for at all, we can plan new content for it.
How do you rank now?
Keyword research also shows how your website ranks now. A search where you are already first needs no more work.
The easiest place to see your current visibility is Google’s Search Console. I recommend checking it at least once a month: it tells a lot about your customers and how they behave on search engines and on your site.
Keyword research in an SEO project
The project's first step: this is what I find out before a single page is optimized.
Mapping the searches
I find out which Finnish words people use to search for your services, and which searches your website already shows up in.
Search volumes
I find out how many times a month each search is made in Finland, with Google Keyword Planner among other tools.
Competition
I estimate how hard the competition for each search is.
Relevance
I make sure the searches fit your content and your audience.
Devices
I find out whether your services are searched for on a computer, a phone or a tablet.
Choosing the searches
I choose the searches where the volume and the competition are well balanced.
Keyword report
You get a broad report on the search terms, and my recommendations on which ones to write content for.
Keyword research is not rocket science
But it takes time. The data is easy to get; deciding what to do with it can be hard. If you need help with keyword research in Finnish, get in touch.
Ask me
Send me an email or book a free SEO check, and we'll see whether I can help. We can talk in English.
Free SEO check
A 60-minute Google Meet call: we look at how your website shows up on Google in Finland.